Mandrill went to Bogalusa Louisiana to record at "Studio In The Country". Bill Davis the owner had a studio built on a ranch and Mandrill rented the studio for a month. Bills father owned the paper mill which employed most of the town. This made it easy on bands coming in.

The day we arrived Johnny Winter was finishing-up his album.

The studio was beautiful! We had a house mother named Mammie. She would make sandwiches and cooked great meals for the band.

The band road horses to the studio and Neftali was given a white horse named Coke. Neftali never road a horse before and Coke knew it. The band took-off and left Neftali and Coke behind. He wound-up walking the coke to the studio.

The band brought a jam they recorded at Electric Lady Land. The "Positive thing" jam went on for over 30 minutes and was a funk monster. Neftali remembers George Clinton running up to the stage when he heard Positive Thing for the first time and said he never heard anything like it.

Dougie Rodrigues took Omar Mesa's place and was and is a great guitar player. He fit right in and bonded with Neftali and Fudgie. His knowledge of "Funk" took Mandrill to yet another level. Dougie went into town one day and entered a small motor cycle race. He placed second in the race. He was so inspired he wrote the song "After The Race". Dougie recorded his guitar parts through a Marshal 50 watt head and a four ten bottom. We took a long tube like kids play with and placed one end directly on a speaker and the other end we miced. This created that great fazzer sound you hear on the record.

Claud Coffee Cave wrote one of his best works ever "Mini Suit For Duke" inspired by Mandrills performance with Duke Ellington. This song goes through many great changes. Neftali was blown away to work on such a great piece of music. Coffee wrote all the orchestra parts as well as schooled the band on what he wanted from them. Neftali says that's what made mandrill the band they where, a real family and team. Coffee was a major part of the Mandrill sound writing many of mandrills music.

Carlos also got busy with orchestration on Khidja, Love is Sunshine, and House Of Wood. Neftali recorded the rain sounds you here on house of wood. A storm past over the studio and Neftali grabbed a U-87 and placed it just outside the door of the studio.

Lou did something very different. He went into the studio by himself and got on the mic like a radio DJ and had a conversation with "Lady Jane". The conversation got very hot sexually.

Neftali wrote Cal-ip-so. This song was based on a Buddy Miles influence. Calipso was a dancer who made his way to New York City and made it on Broadway.

Fudgie and Dougie sat down at the piano and wrote a beautiful song "The Reason I Sing". Fudgie's lyrics and vocal were inspired by his lady. The band brought their ladies with them which made the experience that much more memorable.

Neftali said allot of Mandrillland was influenced by some members experimenting with a variety of drugs including himself. Drugs mixed with creativity and talent made mandrillland a free form lp. The band treated themselves to this lp not thinking about the record company but caring about a total freeform expression of their creativity.

Mandrilland also brought turmoil within the band and the break between part of the rhythm section and the rest of the band. The lp was changed around after Neftali, Fudgie, and Dougie left the ranch. Songs where taken off and replaced by Wilson brother and Coffee Cave compositions. The band was changing from a democracy to a dictatorship. The band voted on musical decisions but with seven members the vote was always going to the Wilson brothers with Coffee having the sway vote. On occasion Coffee or Lou Wilson would vote on issues that were brought up by Fudgie or Neftali but towards the end the vote was a majority in favor of the Wilson brothers. It was being made clear the Wilson brothers wanted to be in control of the band. Being the nucleus of the band Neftali said the brothers felt they were Mandrill. This thinking changed everything within the Mandrill family.

Neftali, Fudgie, and Dougie all left the band at the same time. The very thing mandrill was founded on was lost and never returned. The Wilson's along with Coffee took over the band and hired side players for their future lps. Mandrillland was the last album on Polydor and the last lp the entire band participated in.